A long-tailed macaque has made a “miracle” recovery after being shot with a harpoon gun on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The quarrel that hit the monkey, which has been nicknamed “Rocket”, penetrated under the animal’s eye through its head and into its back.

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand tracked down the animal after concerned residents began posting pictures of it in obvious distress on Facebook. Foundation staff then sedated the monkey before capturing it and administering veterinary care.

“It’s actually doing quite well with no infection and no abscesses at the moment,” the foundation’s founder Edwin Wiek told The Nation. “He seems to be recovering quite well and we expect to return him to the wild in four or five days.”

Wiek said such incidents were not uncommon in areas around the industrial estates on Bangkok outskirts, which he attributed to migrant workers hunting animals for food. “These people do not know the laws of Thailand and that these animals are protected,” Wiek said.

The foundation plans to post hoardings in the area in the Khmer and Burmese languages to educate people about animal cruelty and wildlife protections stipulated by Thai law.

This is not the first time the foundation has come to the assistance of wounded animals in the area, although Rocket’s strong recovery made the animal something of the exception and only the second monkey to fully recover from such an injury.